I live on this little island of Kauai where there are no windsurfing schools or instructors.
I do know of a guy who gives kiting lessons and he's a great windsurfer so maybe he can give a lesson, or I can fly to Maui.
When I sailed the other day I tried the tack the one good thing was when I fell for whatever reason the mast fell on the right side LOL
Funny, i wanted to talk about tacking but everyone only wants to give jibing advise!
I'll start another post about the jibe.

i tack tons. i've been able to do ever better ones by trying different stuff with my long board. if you have the ability to remember the flow charts of if then, variation to variation, try different stuff with lots of repetition of changing one variable to another.

Shortboard tack - so useful when you start sailing waves. Was/is WAY harder for me to learn than jibes! When I tack my 80-liter wave board and keep my knees out of the water, I'm stoked

It's been suggested elsewhere in the thread, but - ISOLATE. Practice the carve. Practice the sail flip. Commit it all to muscle memory. Then assemble.___________________________________________________________
FORMERLY of www.windsurfingmag.com

...multi-day camps with ... are much better, because you will not only work on the jibe, but also on other skills that really help with jibe success.

,,, then you can go the "double video" approach. Look at the instructions videos -... Then, ... and film yourself while jibing. ...y end up developing bad habits that can be very hard to unlearn later.

Also great advice. IMHO most jibes are blown well before you think you are jibing. It is usually due to fundamentals, or bad habits you have picked up over the years.

Definitely! The blown jibe (or jibe that grinds to a halt) seems to go to hell during the sail flip and footwork, but the loss of speed and well set carving rail happened long before. More classic ABK: you'll be watching yourself in the video and the instructors will point out that your less-than-smooth unhooking technique started a little bounce in the board, that digs the tail in a bit during the carve initiation, so you have neither great speed nor smoothness. Because you're unhooking badly. But you fall in (or off the plane) much later._________________Michael
http://www.peconicpuffin.com

Definitely! The blown jibe (or jibe that grinds to a halt) seems to go to hell during the sail flip and footwork, but the loss of speed and well set carving rail happened long before. More classic ABK: you'll be watching yourself in the video and the instructors will point out that your less-than-smooth unhooking technique started a little bounce in the board, that digs the tail in a bit during the carve initiation, so you have neither great speed nor smoothness. Because you're unhooking badly. But you fall in (or off the plane) much later.

Actually in my experience I find it happens way before then. Like at the waterstart. People who can't waterstart properly tend to use a bigger sail, then they don't learn to be efficient, so their stance is incorrect. Then they are sailing overpowered so to bleed off power they tend to pinch up so when they start their jibe they are starting it from a close reach or a beam reach instead of a broad reach with an overpowered sail. All this happens long before they unhook for the jibe.

And Mike before you jump in, remember we are talking about TEACHING the jibe to a person who can't do it. Not after somebody has done thousands of them and can do them in their sleep.....

And Mike before you jump in, remember we are talking about TEACHING the jibe to a person who can't do it. Not after somebody has done thousands of them and can do them in their sleep.....

First, I agree with your comments. Second, it was exactly the jibe I describe in my tutorial that got me through my very first jibe and the next tens of thousands. I was getting nowhere trying to learn them on my own or with the useless lessons available back then.

Don't give up trying!
It took me almost four years of trial an error to start jibing.
I can only recommend what it worked for me:
1) Watching instructional videos: "Turn for the better 2 RYA" and "12 Step Jibe By Dasher". I have watched these videos more than 50 times and I will keep doing it as I perfect my jibing. You will learn something new every time guaranteed. Start little by little and keep building up your progress on what it worked.
2) Spend time in the water trying: As other people recommended, don't wait till you're tired, your reaction will be slower and chances for failure higher.
3) The spot you chose is also key in the learning process. Look for a place with flat water and steady winds, where you can feel confident, relaxed and not scared. It will definitely boost you performance.
4) Try to practice 4 or 5 days in a row if possible, watching the videos again at the end of each day and trying to find what you did right or wrong.

Perseverance is your friend, don't feel frustrated and don't be ashamed to try just because it doesn't look pretty compared to a pro.

If you can also get advice from your peers about your gear to make sure it fits your sailing ability, sailor profile and the conditions for the place you usually sail.

Everyone learns differently.
Took me a full season to jibe 99%, out of 50 jibes a day.
Took my bud JoeyValera maybe 5 months to do the same.
Took a former g/f about 2.5 years to jibe 95% on a 8'2" glass board.
Took my current g/f mid 3rd year to jibe maybe 80%, in winds of 4.5 thru 7.5.
We all learn at different rates, but we all get there.

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